1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a store information display system which retrieves information for a store along a road or the like and displays thereof.
2. Related Art
When traveling in an unfamiliar area or rambling about such areas, there are many cases in which is it necessary to know about what kinds of stores are located along a road which is being traveled, or in the surrounding area. For example, there are cases in which when traveling by car it is necessary to search a restaurant for lunch or supper or a gas station. For this purpose, there has been proposed a store information display system in which information about a store is retrieved and displayed.
FIG. 22 of the accompanying drawings shows a general view of such a store information display system of the past. In this system, disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAO) No.8-76796, a store 101 has a communication apparatus 102 and an electronic advertisement transmitter 103. The store 101 is connected to a mobile control center 105 via a public network 104, and the public network 104 is connected to a mobile-unit 107, by a wireless communication means 106. The mobile control center 105 is formed by a store database 111, into which is stored data of the store, a mobile control database 112, into which is stored data of the mobile unit 107, a proximity detection apparatus 113, which detects the approach of a mobile unit, and a communication apparatus 114. The mobile unit 107 has a position detection apparatus 115, which detects its position, an electronic advertisement receiver 116, which receives an electronic advertisement, and a mobile communication apparatus 117 for performing communication. The position detection apparatus 115 detects it's position using the GPS (Global Positioning System) 118.
Consider the case in which, in the store information display system of FIG. 22, the store 101 is a coffee shop and the mobile unit 107 is an automobile. The direction of movement of the mobile unit 107 is detected by the position detection apparatus 115, and the mobile communication apparatus 117 notifies detected positioning data to the mobile control center 105. As a result, the mobile unit 107 receives an electronic advertisement from a plurality of coffee shops, making it possible to select a coffee shop with favorable conditions and receive service therefrom.
In a conventional store information display system as described above, the mobile control center 105 collects information with regard to stores close by the mobile unit 107, and distributes this information to a mobile unit 107. Therefore, in the case for example in which the mobile unit 107 is traveling in a remote location, there is often no coffee shop within the prescribed distance from the mobile unit 107, so that displays are infrequent. Additionally, if only a single coffee shop or so is displayed, it is not possible to select a desire shop from a plurality of coffee shops.
If the mobile unit 107 is traveling in a region in which there are a large number of closely clustered high-rise buildings or department stores, there will be a very large number of coffee shops within the prescribed distance from the mobile unit 107. Thus, there will be an unorganized display of a large number of coffee shops, thereby possibly making it difficult to make a selection. In the case in which a search is being made for coffee shop that is a operated as member of a chain of such shops, there can be a case in which a plurality of shops having the same name are displayed, leading to the situation in which, rather than selecting a nearby shop, a distant shop, or a shop in the opposite direction of the direction of travel could be selected, thereby resulting in wasted effort.
Additionally, viewed from the standpoint of a store 101, because in an region with many stores there will be a large number of competing stores 101, the effectiveness of advertising becomes a problem. For a store 101 in a remote and isolated region, even if an advertisement is created to set the store apart from other stores 101, there are many cases in which only one store close by the mobile unit 107 will be displayed, making it difficult for a store 101 to attract customers away from the competing stores.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a store information display system capable of displaying only an appropriate number of stores positioned in an area surrounding a mobile terminal.